monarch butterfly

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

n. A large American butterfly (Danaus plexippus) having light orange-brown wings with black veins and white-spotted black borders, noted for its long-distance migrations and its brightly striped caterpillars that feed on the milkweed plant. Also called milkweed butterfly.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

n. A very large red and black butterfly (Danais Plexippus) having striking orange-brown wings with black veins in a reticulated pattern; -- called also milkweed butterfly and monarch. Its larvae feed on the leaves of the milkweed.